Melksham In Doubt, Fletcher OK

Essendon coach Matthew Knights had revealed the extent of concerns for Bombers duo Dustin Fletcher and Jake Melksham.

"We had a few sore boys in the last 15 or 20 minutes, when we took Fletcher off and he had a slight inconvenience with his back," Knights said after the match. "He should be fine."

"Jake Melksham was obviously really courageous with what he did to go back on," Knights said.

"Ankles can tend to be a little bit tedious ... so we'll know more in the next 48 hours. I would have thought he was possibly in some doubt for Friday considering it's a six-day turnaround."